"It's not the dog. It's the people that made the dog that way," says Ken Frazer, a Westfield animal control officer who's been on the job for more than 27 years.
Frazer was called to a home at 28 Maple St. where officials say a pit bull attacked a 2-year-old girl, it's owner and a police officer Friday morning.
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| Frazer says the owner abused the dog to make it attack |
"We don't know what happened here," Frazer says. "We don't know what transpired, whether the dog felt a little jealously because the little girl was on the owner's lap. We have no idea what started it yet."
The dog's owner was babysitting the little girl Friday when she had the child in her arms.
That's when officials say the dog became aggressive, biting the little girl's hand, then sinking its sharp teeth in its owner's leg. After the owner called 911, officials tell CBS 3, the responding officer was also bit on the forearm but is expected to be OK.
Westfield Police Captain Paul Nunez says the department receives many animal complaints, but not of this nature.
"Not necessarily having a dog that attacks its own owner," he says. "She's had the dog for seven years, so it's kind of unusual for that to happen."
Just last week, a pit bull in Springfield also turned on its owner.
Officials say it attacked its owner because she tried to break up a fight involving her two dogs, a different situation than the Friday incident in Westfield, which Frazer is investigating.
"All we know is that the dog grabbed the little girl. The woman tried to get her pit bull away from him and he in turn, grabbed her. It was a combination of things. Would have gone after somebody else? Yeah, he was still strung out from what happened. Unfortunately, the dog's got to suffer for it," he said.
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| This dog attacked its owner |
The dog involved is being held in quarantine for 10 days as officials make sure it's up to date on shots, like the rabies vaccine. The little girl and the dog's owner were treated at Noble Hospital, but officials have not released information about the extent of their injuries.
Officials do tell CBS 3 it's possible that the pit bull could be euthanized
(WSHM-TV - Jan 27, 2012)
